This Collection of his Writings and Photographs is a Memorial to the Life and Work of Murdoch MacKenzie

the leaving of bossey

Big people don’t cry - except on the jetty when leaving Iona or in the early morning when leaving Bossey. It has been said: ‘The world is small but Iona is big.’ The same is true of Bossey. In both you can grasp the hand of friend and stranger, of pilgrims from far-away places, of those who come seeking peace and unity and leave seeking justice. Iona – a dream – perhaps a nightmare! – for George MacLeod. Bossey, the dream of W. A. Visser’t Hooft, as he and others gave shape to the World Council of Churches in 1946.

Nestling above the shore of Lake Geneva, with the long range of the pine-forested Jura mountains behind and the magnificence of the Alps rising across the lake, the Chateau de Bossey has a beauty and a tranquillity all of its own. Yet, like Iona, Bossey is a thin place, with a fragility which beckons strangers to become friends in the mystery of ecumenical encounter within the love of God. It is a vulnerable place with all the conflicts and clashes of cultures, all the imperfections of participants and staff, which are not unknown on Iona. Like Iona, Bossey is what we bring to it. In the words of Hans Ruedi Weber: “ It has a chapel but no spirituality of its own. It has its organization, but no monastic rules, no prescribed code of behaviour. Its continuity has to be built up every time again. The tears at the departure are as strong a reality as the smile of the first encounter.” It sounds familiar doesn’t it?

Quite out of the blue we were asked if we would go as volunteers to Bossey,which is the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Institute attached to the University of Geneva. There we accompanied 43 students from Baptist, Anglican, Methodist, Orthodox, Catholic, Reformed, Lutheran and United churches. They came from 25 countries for the 60th Session of the Graduate School of Ecumenical Studies from mid-September to mid-February 2008-9. The theme for this 60th Session was concerned with Poverty and Wealth in Overcoming Violence in the light of the message of 2 Corinthians 5:18 ‘God has given us the Ministry of Reconciliation’. Successful students gained credits from the University of Geneva, 8 will complete a short Master’s course in June, whilst others are now continuing their studies for two years towards obtaining a Master of Theology in Ecumenical Studies. Six nuns, two Lutheran, two Catholic and two Orthodox are pursuing a new programme in Ecumenical Spirituality together.

Thus we suddenly found ourselves in the midst of the World Church alongside gifted people in whom the love of Jesus was inspiringly tangible. Each person, among both staff and students, was personally committed to overcoming violence. Two of them lost parents in the Rwandan genocide and are involved in the truth and reconciliation movement. Another, now an Anglican deacon, had been a boy soldier in Sudan and is presently involved in their rehabilitation. In Myanmar and in Thailand our students are combating the trafficking of women. In Nigeria the struggle to eliminate violence against women is high on the students’ agenda. In so many places HIV/Aids is a major concern especially for a student who is Director of a Peace Centre in Burundi. For students from Romania, Ukraine, Poland, Serbia, Cyprus, Greece and Russia conflict resolution within the European Union is of deep concern as well as issues relating to Islam and to Orthodox/Roman Catholic relationships. Elsewhere the oppression of Dalits in India, conflict in Sri Lanka, eco-justice in Korea, the plight of vulnerable people in the Great Lakes region of Africa, and inclusiveness in human sexuality in the USA are all matters of personal angst for those students who live there.

As well as the students in residence, Bossey is home each year to hundreds of organisations, usually with three or more meetings each day, some for a week or a month at a time. Just as we were leaving, the Centre for International Humanitarian Cooperation had begun a month’s interactive sharing between 35 people from conflict zones around the world at which we heard David Owen speak on Zimbabwe. A random sample of other users included the World Health Organisation, pilgrims from a German church, UNICEF, UNCTAD, WCC Friends in Korea, the World Trade Organisation, World Vision and the World Wide Fund for Nature. Also during our five months people came from various bodies across the globe to plan for their celebrations of Edinburgh 2010, the centenary of the ecumenical movement, focussing on Mission in the 21st century, to be celebrated not only in Edinburgh but within their own contexts. At the WCC in Geneva a public hearing was held on the whole issue of reconciliation. It was chaired by Revd Kjell Magne Bondevik, a former Prime Minister of Norway, who is also moderator of the WCC Churches Commission on International Affairs. He stressed the dilemma that societies often face between justice, on the one hand, and peace on the other.

Our time at Bossey was marked by two particular events. People sometimes ask: ‘Where were you when President Kennedy was assassinated?’ Now they will ask an additional question: ‘Where were you when the first black person was elected President of the United States of America?’ Well, we were at Bossey, and we will never forget the euphoria of the students from the USA, Africa and elsewhere as the result was announced. The words ‘Obama’ and ‘Yes we can’ were on everyone’s lips. Later we watched the inauguration of the new President on TV in the student’s lounge with a student from Chicago pouring out the wine! The other world event which marked our time in Bossey was the credit crunch and we recalled the oft-repeated words of George MacLeod about the money men. ‘And why is the Church silent about the money boys? The international bankers who run the world! I wrote to the top man of a London bank once, asking for his comments about world poverty. He said: “ The figures aren’t accurate.” I asked him: “ Which figures? “ and I’m still waiting for his reply. These are the men who run the world. They know what is good for us. But do they know what is good for us? Or are they sowing the seeds of the next world war?’ Thus the prophetic words of George still come back to haunt us!

In amongst all of this there were parties, dancing and singing, with Asian, African and European nights; walking in the snow high up in the Juras; as well as amazing morning worship with songs and stories from around the world to the sound of drums from Africa and Orthodox chanting from Romania. Nigerians were making snowmen and visitors from the UK were discussing how stronger links could be forged between St Colm’s, Iona, Scottish Churches House, Queens Birmingham, Milton Keynes and Bossey. The leaving of all of this was not easy and many a tear was shed as one by one, students departed to return home to their families in far-away places. . Eventually it was our turn, one morning early at 7 am, with our car surrounded by a semi-circle of students, some in dressing gowns, singing ‘Masithi Amen, siyakudumisa’ as we embraced each one and with lumps in our throats turned the car towards Scotland. But then, big people don’t cry…….

Anne and Murdoch MacKenziewww.bossey.chWritten in March 2009 for the Iona Community e-bulletin